- Hong Kong: Lai’s fraud conviction overturned
Source: CBS News
“An appellate court in Hong Kong reversed fraud convictions against former media tycoon Jimmy Lai. It was a rare victory for the prominent pro-democracy activist, who is a fierce critic of Beijing and has faced a litany of legal battles. Lai, 78, an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily, will stay in prison because he was sentenced to 20 years weeks ago after being convicted in another case brought under a China-imposed national security [sic] law. … The conviction that was overturned Thursday was from an earlier fraud case in which prosecutors alleged that a consultancy firm controlled by Lai had used office space that his media business rented for publication and printing purposes.” (02/26/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jimmy-lai-fraud-conviction-overturned-hong-kong/
- France’s Engie to buy UK power grid from Hong Kong conglomerate for $14 billion
Source: Reuters
“French utility Engie will buy electricity distributor UK Power Networks for 10.5 billion pounds ($14.2 billion) in a bid to expand its power business, the company said on Wednesday as it reported flat full-year earnings and revised upward its outlook for the coming years. The deal, due to close in mid-2026, is expected to boost per-share earnings from the first year, the company said. UK Power Networks is owned by Hong Kong-listed CK Infrastructure Holdings (1038.HK), opens new tab (CKI). … UK Power Networks operates 192,000 km (119, 300 miles) of power lines serving 8.5 million customers across London and the southeast and eastern parts of England.” (02/26/26)
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/engie-raises-its-financial-targets-2026-2028-2026-02-25/
- Jersey votes to approve assisted dying, as a similar UK bill stalls in House of Lords
Source: ABC News
“A second British island voted Thursday to approve assisted dying, as a similar bill that would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives is bogged down in the British Parliament. The bill, which requires the formality of approval by King Charles III, would allow terminally ill residents who have lived in Jersey for more than year and are expected to have less than six months to live — or less than 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease — to end their lives. … Jersey, an island of about 100,000 inhabitants that sits in the English Channel off the northwest coast of France, is the second British Crown possession to approve assisted dying. The Isle of Man did so in March last year, but it has waited nearly a year for the king’s approval because it first requires the U.K. Ministry of Justice to process the legislation.” (02/26/26)
- Democrats in four states seek to bar ICE gang members from future civil service jobs
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Supercharged by billions in dollars from Congress, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has hired thousands of new officers to carry out Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign in an effort it has likened to ‘wartime recruitment.’ In several states, Democratic lawmakers want applicants to think twice about taking part. Bills introduced in recent weeks in the legislatures of at least four Democratic-led states would impose long-term consequences on new ICE employees by rendering them ineligible for jobs in law enforcement, public education, and, in their most expansive form, the entire state civil service. None of the proposals has been signed into law, and potential legislation may face legal challenges.” (02/26/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/26/democrats-bar-ice-employees-civil-service-jobs
- France: Court sentences Iranian woman to a year in prison for social media posts
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“A French court on Thursday sentenced Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari to one year in prison for justifying terrorism. Esfandiari, 39, was arrested in France last year over comments she is accused of having made on social media, including on Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. She was sentenced to four years, of which three are suspended, the judge said, citing ‘the nature of the acts and their seriousness.’ … Some observers see Esfandiari as a potential bargaining chip in negotiations with Tehran for the release of French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held in Iran since May 2022.” (02/26/26)
- AP sources: FBI fires agents who worked on Trump classified document investigation
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“The FBI has fired additional agents who worked on an investigation into President Donald Trump, this time terminating employees who participated in the probe into the Republican’s hoarding of classified documents, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The firings are part of a broader personnel purge under the leadership of Director Kash Patel, a Trump appointee who, over the last year, has pushed out dozens of employees who either contributed to investigations of the president or who were perceived as not in alignment with the administration’s agenda. The Justice Department has engaged in similarly sweeping firings of prosecutors since Trump took office last year.” (02/26/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/26/fbi-fires-trump-classified-documents-agents/
- World Economic Forum chief resigns after Epstein ties revealed
Source: The Hill
“Børge Brende resigned as president and CEO of the World Economic Forum (WEF) amid revelations regarding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Brende wrote in a WEF release he decided to step down ‘after careful consideration’ from a role he has occupied since 2017. He did not mention the late convicted sex offender. … The WEF launched a probe into Brende earlier this month, after documents released by the Department of Justice revealed he attended multiple ‘business dinners’ with Epstein and exchanged emails and text messages with the sex offender, years after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.” (02/26/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5756220-epstein-brende-world-economic-forum-resigns/
- Hungary: Regime accuses Ukraine of “oil blockade,” deploys soldiers to key energy facilities
Source: CNBC
“Hungary has accused Ukraine of disrupting oil supplies it gets from Russia and has stationed troops at critical energy facilities across the country as Prime Minister Viktor Orban ramps up the rhetoric around energy and national security ahead of parliamentary elections in April. Orban on Wednesday accused Kyiv of imposing an ‘oil blockade’ on Hungary by delaying the reopening of the Druzhba pipeline which supplies it, and neighboring Slovakia, with Russian oil. Ukraine shut the pipeline a month ago, saying a Russian strike had damaged it, but Hungary’s leader accused Kyiv of deliberately keeping the pipeline closed for ‘political’ rather than ‘technical’ reasons.” (02/26/26)
- ByHeart infant botulism outbreak ends with 48 babies sickened
Source: SFGate
“A rare outbreak of infant botulism that sickened dozens of babies who drank recalled ByHeart formula is over, with no new cases reported since mid-December, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. In all, 48 babies were sickened since 2023. That’s actually down from the previous case count, because three infants were ultimately diagnosed with other illnesses not tied to botulism, health officials said. All of the children who got sick were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. It’s still unclear exactly how, when or where the organic, whole-milk powdered baby formula became contaminated with the type of bacteria that can cause serious illness, paralysis and death in children younger than 1, health officials added. Most of the cases had occurred since August, when officials at California’s Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention program detected an alarming rise in reports of the illness in babies who consumed ByHeart formula.” (02/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/byheart-infant-botulism-outbreak-ends-with-48-21943214.php
- NY: James files frivolous lawsuit vs. Counter-Strike game developer
Source: Orange County Register
“New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the ‘loot boxes’ found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling. State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 illegally charge users for the chance to win rare items held in the virtual containers. In Counter-Strike, the process even resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item, James’[s] office said.” (02/25/26)
- FinCEN’s Warning — and the Predictable Failure of Prohibition
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Roger Bate“Over the past few years, quiet but extraordinary warnings have emerged from the US Treasury Department. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reports that illicit e-cigarettes are being used as part of trade-based money-laundering schemes linked to fentanyl trafficking. Illegal vaping products are no longer just a regulatory nuisance or a youth-use talking point. They have become a financial instrument in the cartel economy. The finding matters because it exposes a reality many policymakers have spent years denying — prohibition does not eliminate markets, it reorganizes them. And when demand persists, prohibition reliably hands control to the most ruthless and well-organized suppliers.” (02/26/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/fincens-warning-and-the-predictable-failure-of-prohibition/
- They’ve Got You Buying and Selling
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“Protectionism has been absurd for centuries. Trade is, for all practical purposes, a technology, so protectionism is just Luddism in disguise. … But over the last ten years, protectionism has taken a major turn for the worse. Classic protectionism was at least predictable. Protectionists looked at sellers and saw gainers; they looked at buyers and saw losers. … however, protectionists have risen to a new level of nonsense. While they still loudly complain when their countrymen buy goods and services from foreigners, they also loudly complain when their countrymen sell oddly specific goods to foreigners.” ()2/26/26)
- The Price of Perfect Nihilism
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano“When President Donald Trump first announced that he had ordered the Pentagon to attack fishing boats and speedboats on the high seas which he said carried dangerous drugs destined for willing buyers in the United States, many of us who monitor the government for its indifference to the Constitution perceived it as truly criminal and utterly scandalous. The military commits murder when it intentionally kills a civilian non-combatant who poses no immediate threat to the U.S. or to military personnel. The crime is committed by all personnel in the chain of command who knowingly participate in these attacks. The order to kill civilian non-combatants is an unlawful order which the military personnel who receive it have a legal and moral duty to challenge and either decline to carry out or resign from the military. It was scandalous because the president and his secretary of defense boasted about it.” (02/26/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/02/25/the-price-of-perfect-nihilism
- I, Chip
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by James Vermilion“Seventy years ago, Leonard Read invited a pencil to tell its story. The lesson has not changed. Only the complexity has. I am a computer chip. I am a thin square of silicon, sealed in plastic, small enough to disappear into your phone, your car, your thermostat, or your pacemaker. You notice me only when I fail. Yet each day you ask more of me than entire rooms of machinery once delivered in a year. You may say I am made in factories, designed by engineers, financed by corporations, and regulated by governments. Each of these statements is true. And yet no single person on earth knows how to make me.” (02/26/26)
- An Iran War Puts America, the Constitution, Peace, and the Facts Last
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow“President Donald Trump appears intent on war with Iran. After demanding that Norway give him the Nobel Peace Prize for magically solving multiple imagined conflicts, he is threatening to ignite a real war with an unjustified aggressive attack on a nation half a world away that poses no danger to America. He is unashamedly acting on behalf of another government, violating his duty to the American people under the U.S. Constitution, which does not authorize the president to wander the globe bombing other nations at will.” (02/26/26)
- Waiting for ICE: They’re Almost Here, But Where Am I?
Source: TomDispatch
by Robert Lipsyte“In early February, the barbarians reached my gate. There could be no more comfort or denial here on this island where I live. The masked thugs were roving through a town just across the water, a short ferry ride away, harassing and arresting long-time residents. I was shocked, but not surprised. What do we do now? Yes, we all knew they were coming, still…. I was raised in the post-World War II ‘it can’t happen here’ era. Hadn’t my parents’ generation crushed the Nazis for all time? While we’d been taught that democracy, like a faith or a marriage, did need tending, we had mostly taken it for granted. Yes, I did understand that life as I had lived it was under attack, but there was still, I thought, some time to respond.” (02/26/26)
- Iran Is the Potential Quagmire That Trump Thinks He Can Avoid
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“The Trump administration’s rhetoric on Iran is beginning to sound familiar in ways that should make Congress uneasy, if what’s past is prologue. The language is confident, abstract, and deliberately imprecise. Trump has casually talked about strikes on Iran, while skirting the far more consequential questions that follow large-scale military strikes that could include escalation, retaliation, political collapse, and long-term responsibility.” (02/26/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/iran-is-the-potential-quagmire-that
- Perú Invented a New Form of Government, and Nobody Noticed
Source: Persuasion
by Quico Toro“To those of us who studied political science, Perú presents a bit of a taxonomic conundrum. We’re all taught at school that systems where the executive needs to keep parliament on side to stay in power are called ‘parliamentary,’ and systems where the executive is separately elected and serves a fixed term independent of legislative majorities are called ‘presidential.’ These are the two flavors democracy comes in. Everyone knows this. Perú didn’t get the memo. Peruvian legislators have figured out one weird trick that magically turns a presidential system parliamentary.” (02/26/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/peru-invented-a-new-form-of-government
- We can build infrastructure and habitat at the same time
Source: Niskanen Center
by Grace Olson“Severe weather events now cause billions in damages annually, while electricity demand is on the rise — driven by economic growth and the expansion of artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing. Building resilient, modern infrastructure will be essential for maintaining global competitiveness, ensuring affordability and reliability, and supporting a growing domestic economy. Yet even as our capacity to build the economic and technical infrastructure we need has stalled, we are also losing much of the natural infrastructure we depend on.” (02/26/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/we-can-build-infrastructure-and-habitat-at-the-same-time
- With Its Tariff Ruling, SCOTUS Shows It’s Possible to Take Away Trump’s Toys
Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
by John Feffer“The Supreme Court’s decision is clear. The president did not have the authority to impose most of his tariffs. President Donald Trump argued that, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, his actions were justified because of a national emergency caused by a foreign threat. In the 6-3 ruling, the court said that, on the contrary, that act provides Congress with that authority, which hadn’t delegated it to the president. The tariffs left standing are largely by sector: cars, semiconductors, steel. Trump, like the infamous honey badger, don’t care. The president immediately insulted the six justices who ruled against him, calling them ‘disloyal’, ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘lapdogs… for the radical left Democrats’. Then he turned around and reimposed a global 15% tariff rate.” (02/26/26)
https://fpif.org/the-silver-lining-behind-trumps-tariff-tantrum/
- Japan’s Economic Plan
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott“In the wake of Japan’s early general election on February 8, 2026, much of the commentary has focused on two major aspects: the landslide victory of Sanae Takaichi’s Jiyū-Minshutō (Liberal Democrat Party, LDP) of 316 seats; and LDP’s hardline shift against immigration and foreign workers. Underdiscussed, however, are the likely impacts the election outcome has on Japan’s economic fortunes.” (02/26/26)
- The White House wants Iran to attack Americans
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Ben Armbruster“Trump administration officials are apparently aware that Americans do not want to go to war with Iran. Indeed, poll after poll (after poll) shows that voters have no interest in starting another Middle East conflict, let alone embarking on an Iraq war-style regime change operation. But the White House is working on ways around that. Trump officials’ latest thinking, according to a new report from Politico, is to have the Israelis attack Iran first and hope the Iranian retaliation targets U.S. forces in the region, which, in turn the theory apparently goes, Americans back home would be more supportive of a U.S. counterstrike in defense of U.S. troops.” (02/26/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-iran-attack-americans/
- The President’s Stupid and Unrealistic Demands in Geneva
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison“Iran may be willing to accept a new nonproliferation agreement with limits far beyond what the Non-Proliferation Treaty requires, but it is not going to accept those limits indefinitely. You can have significant limitations on Iran’s nuclear program for a certain period of time, but you are never going to get those limitations made permanent. Smart negotiators would understand that and adjust accordingly. The U.S. has Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner instead.” (02/26/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-presidents-stupid-and-unrealistic
- Trump Destroyed Dems in SOTU by Exposing Who They Are
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“It truly is something to behold, the way President Donald Trump plays these Democrats like a cat swats around a mouse. The only difference in that dynamic is that the mouse can’t help itself; it doesn’t know it’s being played. Democrats…well, maybe they are only as smart as a mouse. It’s tough to know. The only things that can be known are just how pathetic Democrats are, and Donald Trump lives rent-free in their head, their dreams and in every breath they take. I expect pathetic Democrat activists to be able to control themselves about as well as a starved Pavlovian dog in a bell factory; they aren’t very bright and have spent their lives buying into the BS the leftist corporate media and their masters in the Democrat Party have been selling.” (02/26/26)
- When Extraterrestrials Attacked the Stock Market
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman“On October 30, 1938 a very young Orson Welles pulled a clever stunt. He masterminded a live radio dramatization of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds, presented as if CBS was actually reporting on a Martian invasion. Although the program occasionally notified listeners that it was a dramatic presentation, not news, thousands of Americans panicked, packing churches, fleeing their homes, and jamming switchboards. Last weekend Citrini Research released a report — on Substack! — titled The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis. The report, which rapidly went viral, laid out a scenario for economic and financial chaos caused by AI, written as if it were a retrospective published after the dire developments it projected. … There are two distinct questions about the huge reaction to a report that didn’t actually contain any news.” (02/26/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/when-extraterrestrials-attacked-the
- Epstein’s Amoral Haul
Source: Law & Liberty
by Helen Dale“The latest tranche of the Epstein Files has fleshed out the sheer scale of the billionaire’s reach and highlighted the fragility of good character.” (02/26/26)
- How to Adapt in an Era of Algorithm Warfare
Source: Foreign Policy
by Anne Neuberger“Innovative, low-cost weapons have destroyed sophisticated military systems that can be dramatically costlier to build and operate. Russian warships costing tens of millions of dollars have succumbed to semi-autonomous Ukrainian sea drones costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even cheaper commercial drones have not only destroyed million-dollar tanks but have also performed missions that were once only possible with advanced military helicopters. Countering these drones can drain the defender’s coffers. … The barrier to entry for sophisticated, high-impact warfare is collapsing with the global availability of cheap, powerful, and adaptable commercial technology. This new reality leaves policymakers and citizens grappling with a set of profound challenges. Countries are confronting central issues around these novel strategic asymmetries and how to control the proliferation of advanced weapons when they are built from commercial components.” (02/26/26)
- What causes stagflation?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak“In a market economy, a producer exchanges his product for money. He then exchanges the received money for the products of other producers. Alternatively, we can say that an exchange of something for something takes place by means of money. Things are, however, not quite the same once money is generated out of ‘thin air’ because of the expansionary central bank policies. Once money out of ‘thin air’ is employed, it sets in motion an exchange of nothing for something. This amounts to a diversion of resources from wealth generators to the holders of the newly generated money. In the process, wealth generators are left with fewer resources at their disposal, which in turn weakens their ability to grow the economy.” (02/26/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/02/what-causes-stagflation/
- The Only True Nuclear Protective Shield Is Global Disarmament
Source: Common Dreams
by Klaus Moegling“The use of key security policy terms in public discourse is intended to suggest facts that serve to calm people down. However, there are many reasons for concern that could also trigger peace forces. Political scientist and historian Herfried Münkler called for a European atomic bomb as early as 2023. There is currently an increasingly heated debate about whether Germany should seek refuge under France’s nuclear protective shield in view of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The leader of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, also raised the issue of acquiring nuclear bombs as part of European armament in 2024. The German and French heads of government, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron, are also paving the way for talks on European nuclear armament and the extension of France’s nuclear umbrella, according to Merz in his speech at the Munich Security Conference in early 2026.” (02/26/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/no-nuclear-protective-shield
- Don’t Expect a Refund for Your Tariff-Inflated Expenses
Source: Jacobin
by David Sirota“With Donald Trump’s tariffs being ruled illegal, the government may be on the hook for up to $170 billion in refunds. Because Amazon helped conceal how much tariffs raised consumer prices, it will be easier for companies to hoard refunds for themselves.” (02/26/26)
https://jacobin.com/2026/02/tariffs-refunds-trump-bezos-amazon/
- The new age of the foreign mercenary
Source: spiked
by Tom Bailey“While developed nations are investing in military hardware, they increasingly lack the manpower for any future, high-intensity conflict. They could employ conscription, but these are also ageing societies. They have shrinking youth cohorts – the very demographic historically relied on in high-intensity conflict. At the margins of the war in Ukraine, we can see how the two sides are trying to cope with this reality – through the recruitment of foreign soldiers.” (02/26/26)
- Don’t mistake military escalation in Iran for an actual strategy
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy“As U.S. and Iranian negotiators prepare for more talks in Geneva, the White House is reportedly considering an initial, targeted military strike — with the possibility of broader action if Tehran refuses to accept demands for ‘zero enrichment’ of nuclear material. In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Trump argued that last year’s U.S. strikes had ‘obliterated’ Iran’s program even as his administration continues negotiations now, without a clear objective. The strategic logic appears straightforward: strike first, demonstrate resolve, increase pressure and force Iran back to the table on American terms. Before momentum carries the country further down that path, the nation is owed clear answers. Decisions of this kind should not rest solely on tactical calculation; they require clarity about legal authority, strategic reality and risk.” (02/26/26)
- Hegseth’s AI Ultimatum
Source: The Bulwark
by Andrew Egger“While the Pentagon has contracts with all the leading AI labs, Anthropic until this month was the only one contracted for AI use in classified settings: Claude was, for instance, reportedly involved in the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has grown unhappy with two elements of the DoD’s contract with Anthropic. One, Anthropic won’t let its AI be used to conduct mass surveillance of Americans. Two, it won’t let the DoD use it to operate autonomous weapons systems that can identify, track, and kill targets without direct human involvement. To the Defense Department, the idea that a contractor would be able to tie the military’s hands like this is outlandish …. Hegseth could simply drop Anthropic’s contract over this …. But he doesn’t really want to …. So instead, Hegseth has issued Anthropic an ultimatum: Change your policy, or we’re going to start getting nasty.” (02/26/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/ai-death-machines-no-human-oversight-hegseth-anthropic-claude-military
- Six signs of student press censorship
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Marie McMullan“When student journalism came under fire last year, those sparks caught the public’s attention. With the ousting of The Indiana Daily Student’s advisor and temporary ban on its print issues, the University of Alabama’s decision to close two student-run magazines, and sadly more, 2025 was a busy year for student press censors. But not all efforts to suppress student journalists are as eye-catching. To help understand how censorship can sneak into newsrooms, here are six signs to look out for …” (02/26/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/six-signs-student-press-censorship
- Savoring the Declaration
Source: Law & Liberty
by Joshua T Katz“The famous second sentence of the Declaration of Independence is more complex than Isaacson realizes.” (02/26/26)
- Lessons from Wall Street sex trafficker Howard Rubin
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz“There are people who are peddling the lie that sexual abuse – Jeffrey Epstein, Howard Rubin, Harvey Weinstein – is about sexual liberalism run amok. … it is not. It’s about POWER. Successful abusers know who to abuse. They know when to abuse. They find vulnerable people and make sure they’re not able to leave before they start abusing them. Howard Rubin didn’t rape [h]is assistant Jennifer Powers. He didn’t rape his kids’ dance instructor or his wife or daughter. He had Jennifer find women in desperate financial need and offered them $2,000 for a night and $5,000 for a great night (according to Rubin). She told them it would involve ‘light fetish work.’ They’d establish a safe word. Then, when they were alone in a room Rubin would tie them up, gag them, and rape and torture them (allegedly?!).” (02/26/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/lessons-from-wall-street-sex-trafficker
- Why capping credit card interest rates will kill credit for working families
Source: Fox News
by Pat Toomey & Kevin Brady“Americans are rightfully concerned about affordability. From healthcare and housing to groceries and utility bills, Americans have been finding these everyday necessities difficult to afford for far too many years. In response, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are pursuing multiple policies meant to lower costs for the American people. While the President and our former Republican congressional colleagues usually have good economic and regulatory instincts, there are some policies worth reconsidering, as they could exacerbate the affordability crisis. For example, as Congress assesses the proposed 10% price cap on credit, Republicans should follow their instincts by recognizing price controls like this have a long history of producing harmful unintended consequences for working families and small businesses. When governments mandate an artificially low price for a product or service in a competitive market, the result is always the same: reduced supply.” (02/26/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/why-capping-credit-card-interest-rates-kill-credit-working-families
- Capitalism’s Coalition Is Cracking — And That Should Worry Us
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn“Polls show skepticism is rising, yet the moral and economic case for free markets has never been stronger.” (02/26/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/capitalisms-coalition-is-cracking-and-that-should-worry-us/
- Are the Rich Good for Democracy?
Source: The Dispatch
by Timothy Sandefur“Hating the rich has been a popular pastime since democracy was invented. The ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes even played on this fact in his comedy Ecclesiazusae, written four centuries before Christ, in which the idealistic Praxagora proposes building a utopian community in which ‘there will no longer be either rich or poor,’ but ‘all property [will] be in common.’ When a friend asks her ‘But who will till the soil?’ Praxagora unselfconsciously replies: ‘The slaves.’ The rhetoric hasn’t improved much since.” (02/26/26)
- The missing Epstein files
Source: Popular Information
by Judd Legum“‘We did not protect President Trump.’ That is what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on January 30, after what he described as the final release of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It turns out that was not true. According to a new report by NPR, the DOJ is withholding ‘more than 50 pages of FBI interviews, as well as notes from conversations with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago when she was a minor.’ The New York Times also reported Wednesday that the DOJ withheld summaries of three FBI interviews with the woman about her interactions with Trump. They released a fourth FBI interview, where the woman made allegations about Epstein.” (02/26/26)
- Almost No One Needs College Algebra Anymore
Source: Washington Monthly
by Samantha Powers“Millions are failing college math. Advocates say the problem isn’t students, but decades-old curricula requiring Cold War-era algebra skills.” (02/26/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/26/almost-no-one-needs-college-algebra-anymore/
- Next-Token Predictor Is An AI’s Job, Not Its Species
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander“In The Argument, Kelsey Piper gives a good description of the ways that AIs are more than just ‘next-token predictors’ or ‘stochastic parrots’ — for example, they also use fine-tuning and RLHF. But commenters, while appreciating the subtleties she introduces, object that they’re still just extra layers on top of a machine that basically runs on next-token prediction. … I want to approach this from a different direction. I think overemphasizing next-token prediction is a confusion of levels. On the levels where AI is a next-token predictor, you are also a next-token (technically: next-sense-datum) predictor. On the levels where you’re not a next-token predictor, AI isn’t one either.” (02/26/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/next-token-predictor-is-an-ais-job
- Trump Can’t Win on the Cheap in Iran
Source: The Unpopulist
by Nicholas Grossman“Iran won’t capitulate under threat, forfeiting major national interests because Trump told it to. His track record suggests he doesn’t have the stomach or strategic foresight for protracted conflict, and will back down if things get difficult, which makes Iranian leaders think they can weather an assault. And they have strong domestic political incentives to resist, fearing that weakness against foreign pressure could fracture the regime or encourage domestic opponents. That leaves the U.S. choosing between another round of limited bombing that accomplishes little, a bigger campaign to collapse the regime with no apparent plan for what comes after, backing down in embarrassing fashion, or an empty ‘deal’ Trump can lie about that, at best, kicks the can down the road and makes the problem even harder to solve. It’s easy to predict which option he’ll pick.” (02/26/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-cant-win-on-the-cheap-in-iran
- The End of Australian Exceptionalism
Source: Quillette
by Eric Kaufmann“The surge in support for Australia’s populist right-wing party One Nation suggests that immigration restrictionism has become increasingly popular with voters: a political trajectory that echoes that of many other Western nations.” (02/26/26)
- Serious Trouble, 02/26/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“But Are the Wings Wild?” (02/26/26)
- FREE SPEECH WINS: Glenn Greenwald and Guy Christensen on Censorship Faced Over Israel
Source: Glenn Greenwald
“A recording from Glenn Greenwald and Guy Christensen’s live video.” (02/26/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/free-speech-wins-glenn-greenwald
- AI Summer, 02/26/26
Source: AI Summer
“Dean on the AI Action Summit in India.” (02/26/26)
https://www.aisummer.org/p/dean-on-the-ai-action-summit-in-india
- Right Now With Perry Bacon, 02/26/26
Source: The New Republic
“This State’s Senators Are Changing the Democratic Party.” (02/26/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/207018/state-senators-changing-democratic-party
- Rising, 02/26/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on what he believes is a liberal backlash towards the U.S. men’s Olympic Hockey team for meeting with President Trump and accepting medal at this year’s State of the Union.” (02/26/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5747068-rising-february-26-2026/
- The Daily, 02/26/26
Source: New York Times
“Inside the Operation to Take Down Mexico’s Biggest Drug Lord.” (02/26/26)
- Underthrow Podcast, 02/26/26
Source: Underthrow
“Broken People Shouldn’t Try to Fix the World,” (02/26/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/broken-people-shouldnt-try-to-fix
- Radio Atlantic, 02/26/26
Source: The Atlantic
“What the Pentagon Fears in Iran.” (02/26/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/02/why-pick-a-fight-with-iran-now/686140/
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 02/26/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“COL. Douglas Macgregor on Iran, Ukraine, and the Fall of U.S. Power.” (02/26/26)